Expecting the Unexpected
by ForeverLily
Summary: The Pharaoh has returned to the afterlife and things are bizarrely normal in domino...until they aren't. Yet another dark force is awakening and a certain old friend has arrived with help. Will Yugi and the gang be up to the challenge? I DON't OWN YGO!


Author's Note: Hi everybody! I would like to thank you all for reading my second ever Yugioh fic! This is one of two fics (the other is going to be in a different fandom) that I'm writing for draco'sfair maiden's birthday! Please enjoy!

I'm using the English names, so here's a list for those of you who are more familiar with the manga and Japanese names!

*names may or may not be in last name, first name order. I copied and pasted most of the names to make sure my spelling was correct.

_Kawai Shizuka_-Serenity

_Katsuya Jonouchi_-Joey Wheeler

_Hiroto Honda_-Tristan Taylor

_Anzu Mazaki_-Tea Gardner

_Sugoroku Mutou_-Solomon Mutou aka grandpa

_Ryuji Otogi_- Duke Devlin

Rishid Ishtar-Odion Ishtar. He's not actually In this, but I thought I'd put in anyway because I was confused when I first started reading fan fiction.

Here it is!

Prologue:

It had been three months, and a disturbing peace had settled in Domino. There were no dueling tournaments, no villains, no unexplainable natural disasters, and nothing having to do with Egypt made an appearance. It was starting to creep everyone out. Yugi and the others were forced to go back to whatever their lives had been like before the pharaoh, and were dealing with the aftermath of everything they had been through since. Tea was suffering from depression and and her frustration was growing daily because of new difficulties dancing. Yugi endured it all with a smile because that was what the pharaoh would have wanted. Both Joey and Yugi were finding ways to cope with their fame. Seto Kaiba was forced to admit that magic did, in fact, exist, and had grudgingly sparked a friendship with Yugi (although he only barely tolerated Joey). Mokuba was practicing his dueling harder than ever and had insisted on taking self defense classes so that he wouldn't be a liability to Kaiba corp. any longer. And Tristan, well, was Tristan, and was as steadfast as ever.

"Hi Yugi! What's cooking?" Joey had just walked in and stopped to sniff the air. "Is that curry?"

"Touch that pot young man and you'll be missing a hand tomorrow."

"What, why?"He reached over and touched the pot and yelled "Hot!" before yanking it away in the same second, before nursing his now throbbing hand.

"I warned you," Grandpa chuckled to himself before walking away. They got their snacks and headed up to Yugi's room to chat. Joey plopped down on Yugi's bed and Yugi sat in his swivel chair.

"So Yugi," Joey took a bite of pocky, "Are you alright."

"Yeah, of course I'm alright," Yugi said, sounding a little too flustered.

"Yugi, come on, the games up, I know you're upset about something. I'm not _that _oblivious, you know."

"It's weird…not having someone else constantly with me. I mean, he's always with me, but now it's different." He shrugged. "It's just something I'll have to get used to. Besides," Yugi smiled, "He taught that me that he'll always be there because we've learned so much from each other."

"We'll all miss him, but at least we know he's with his other friends. They'll take good care of him." There was a moment of silence.

"Tell me Joey, what's bothering _you_?"

"What do you mean what's bothering me? I'm fine."

He shot him a skeptical look that he had picked up from the pharaoh. "Joey, I know you too well. Something's wrong. You haven't been eating nearly as much as usual. The old Joey never would have been satisfied with a package of Pocky!"

"I'm on a diet."

Yugi wanted to laugh. Joey going on a diet was about as likely as him letting Duke Devlin date Serenity. "You're lying."

"Fine, I miss him too. But mostly I hate watching you all suffer the way you do. Come on, when's the last time you saw Tea dance? And you, when's the last time you've dueled for fun? Tristan's the only one who's been acting normal around here at all, and that's only because Tristan feels like he has to be tough for the rest of us."

The smaller boy walked up to him and started straight at the wall.

"I wonder if he misses-" Yugi's Grandpa knocked on the door.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure Grandpa."

He opened the door and stood in the doorway. "You two should be careful when you go out."

"What is it Grandpa?"

"Apparently the crime rate is going up all over the world. There's something fishy going on I tell you! Especially now that the Tomb of the nameless pharaoh has been opened and the millennium items stolen." For a moment the room was dead silent as Joey and Yugi stared at Grandpa Mutou in alarm.

"Oh man Yugi, this is bad. The items by themselves are powerful. Why do feel like something really bad is about to happen?"

Suddenly Tea and Tristan were at the door.

"Who says they have to be connected? Maybe Ishizu and Marik hid them when they found out what was going on," Tea pointed out.

"Tea, Tristan, when did you get here?"

"The door was open so we let ourselves in. The old man loves us? How can he not when I'm so charm-" Tea hit him upside the head.

"Now's not the time to feed your ego!"

He snorted. "I think you've got me and Kaiba mixed up. I'm not the one with the ego."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, why do have to assume that just because the puzzle is missing it's connected?"

"Because Tea, name one bad thing that's happened in the last year that has _not _anything to the items." She opened her mouth. "-Besides that game and The Big Five,"

"I agree with Joey on this one. It _is_ a little suspicious. Even if they aren't connected, if Ishizu and Marik didn't hide them, we're in trouble."

Tea walked over to the phone and held it up. "Why don't we just call her?"

It was needless to say that Ishizu wasn't surprised in the least.

"_So you've heard." _

"_It's all over the news!" _

"_It appears that an ancient force has re-emerged. Unfortunately, we are not certain what this ancient force is, but we fear that Zork may be the cause of its awakening."Ishizu didn't sound shaken in the least. Clearly she suspected something that they didn't. _

"_With the items missing…" _

"_Yes, we are in grave danger. We must find the items unless…" _

"_Unless what?" _

"_Unless they find their way back to you. Tea, could you please hand Yugi the phone?" _

"_Sure." _

"_Ishizu?" _

"_Hello Yugi. Although we do not believe that Zork is strong enough to cause this, we do think he may be behind whatever ancient force is awakening. Keep your eyes open. The Items may find their way back to their reincarnated forms." _

"_Alright, we will, thanks Ishizu. Ishizu, how are things on your end?" _

"_Things have been better. We have failed as Tomb keepers-the body of the Pharaoh is gone, as are the items. Marik, Odion and I are doing what we can to keep things from getting worse. Forgive me, but I must go. Please be careful." _

"_We will. Thanks Ishizu, be careful too." _

"How are we going to defeat him again?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ishizu and Marik think that Zork may have awakened another ancient force."

"We're doomed," Tristan groaned. They had never had to save the world without the pharaoh by their side.

Someone knocked on the door. When Tea jumped up to open it, Yugi got up. "No, let me."

He opened door and froze-they all did.

"Is this the kind of greeting I get from my friends?" The Pharaoh walked in with two magicians that they would recognize anywhere-Mana and Mahad.

"You are right my pharaoh, he looks remarkably like you!"

"What's wrong with them Atem?" Mana whispered in his ear.

"Don't be rude Mana! They are standing right there. And you mustn't refer to our Pharaoh with such disrespect!" Mahad scolded his student.

"Mahad, both of you may call me by my name if you like. I really don't mind. Actually, it's probably best if you do not call refer to me as pharaoh for the duration of our stay here."

"Come on Mahad, say it, it won't kill you," Mana teased.

"If you insist my pha-Atem."

"Pharaoh? Is that really you?"

"Yes Yugi it is." They could no longer restrain themselves and ran to the pharaoh and hugged him, the force of their combined weight nearly causing him to fall over backward.

"What are you doing here?" Tea asked in a wavering voice.

"We missed ya man." Joey said with a huge grin on his face.

"Things were too quite here without you!"

"I missed you all too… I can't breathe." The Pharaoh croaked.

When they let go he sat down on the sofa in Yugi's living room. "I'm here because I missed you guys and-"

"The world is in danger again." Yugi completed the sentence.

"How did you?"

"Well, you see, there's this box that shows pictures of real people and-" Tristan started.

"I know what a television is Tristan. I see, so it was on the news. It's that bad?"

"According to the news, the crime rate has been going up around the world," Tea said, furrowing her eyebrows. "What are we going to do?"

"That's where we come in."

For the first time since entering Mahad entered the conversation and walked over towards where the Pharaoh was sitting. "We harbor the power of millennium items- the power of Egypt. We will defeat this evil!"

"I was able to come back because someone broke into my tomb and activated the protective magic, and because the world was in danger. That, and missed you all. I was given a choice and this is it."

"We came to help Atem. That, and I really wanted to see what your world is like. You were wearing such interesting clothing last time I saw you!"

"My pharaoh, and my pharaoh's friends, we will help you in any way we can.

"Yugi, Joey, Tea, and Tristan, you have a choice-I've already put you through too much-but, would you help me one last time?"

"Hell yeah!" Joey and Tristan shouted that the same time.

"Friends forever, remember?"

"Tea's right, that's what friends are for!"

Author's Note: Hey guys. What do you think of my second ever Yugioh fic? Let me know if I should add on to it (particularly you, Draco's fair maiden!) Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

-lillyflower's revenge


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